Solar Impulse Cross-US Flight Launches (+ Solar Impulse Video)

The popular solar-powered plane called the Solar Impulse is taking off for a cross-US flight tomorrow (Friday, May 3) at 6am Pacific Time / 9am Eastern Time. A live stream of the takeoff can be watched in the video player below.

Update: the live stream is over, so here’s a video of the Solar Impulse:

Here’s the original press release from the Solar Impulse team to go with the momentous US launch:

Mountain View (CA), 02 May 2013 – On May 3rd Solar Impulse, the Swiss solar powered airplane, will depart from San Francisco with Bertrand Piccard in the single seater cockpit, to complete the first leg of its coast-to-coast flights across the USA: first stop will be Phoenix (AZ). It is the first time that a solar airplane capable of flying day and night without fuel, will attempt to fly across America.This journey is also the occasion to launch an initiative called “Clean Generation” to gather worldwide support for the adoption of clean technologies.

Flying Coast to Coast across the United States has always been a mythical endeavor in aviation history. Achieving this in a solar airplane capable of flying day and night without fuel, shows the enormous potential of clean technologies in terms of energy efficiency and renewable energy use. With this adventure, Solar Impulse wants to inspire and motivate as many people as possible to embrace the pioneering spirit that allowed this revolutionary solar-powered airplane to become a reality.

This is why thousands of people, amongst which James Cameron, Buzz Aldrin, Al Gore, Richard Branson, Elie Wiesel and Erik Lindbergh, are supporting the “Clean Generation” Initiative to encourage governments, businesses and decision-makers to push for the adoption of clean technologies and sustainable energy solutions. The names of all those who will join this movement of pioneers will be carried in the cockpit of the airplane as virtual passengers. At every stopover city along the way, more and more names will be added onto the list.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport will be Solar Impulse’s first stop. The airplane is expected to take off on Friday May 3rd at 06:00 am (PDT) from Moffett Field, NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View (CA), and land the following day around 1 am (MST) in Phoenix (AZ). Estimated flight duration is 19 hours.

Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg will alternately pilot the solar airplane to complete the challenge of flying without a drop of fuel across the USA from the West to the East Coasts. The first leg of the flight leading to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (AZ) will be completed by Bertrand Piccard. André Borschberg will fly for the last leg culminating in New York at JF Kennedy Airport.

About the Author

Zach is the director of CleanTechnica, the most popular cleantech-focused website in the world, and Planetsave, a world-leading green and science news site. He has been covering green news of various sorts since 2008, and he has been especially focused on solar energy, electric vehicles, and wind energy since 2009.
Aside from his work on CleanTechnica and Planetsave, he's the founder and director of Solar Love, EV Obsession, and Bikocity.
To connect with Zach on some of your favorite social networks, go to ZacharyShahan.com and click on the relevant buttons.

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